Dela with Bill

Today I headed over to Dela with Bill Spencer (from Moraga), who had been wanting to play that course for a long time. I left work a little early, having completed my hours for the week and so we arrived at 12:30 or so. It was a nice sunny day, not too hot, and we warmed up for a it and then headed out.

I started off with a bogey and it went downhill from there! While I had a great time and enjoyed playing the course, I shot my worst score ever. I just seemed out of sorts and unable to put good shots together. I made some nice long putts and even had a few birdies, but they were offset with a host of VERY large numbers (i.e. and 8, and 7 and a few 6's). Bill beat me by a few strokes, and for someone who has played the course as much as I have to be beaten by someone playing there first or second time at the course was disappointing.

It was still nice to play and I saw Marty there and he gave me a Star plastic Classic Roc from the Master's Cup tournament for volunteering to help out, which was nice of him. He had been saying that he "had something for me..." for a long time and it was great to finally see what it was.

San Francisco Safari (Day 2)

I was pretty tired after playing so much on Saturday, but was excited to see what the other course was like and to get another chance to play the main course where I had shot such a good score the preceding day. I arrived a little later than I did on Saturday as there was no player meeting today - plus I knew how long it would take to get to the course. I got there about 7:45 and found a good place to park, then went to warm-up.

As I did yesterday, I caught up with a few of the local guys to see how they fared on their afternoon round and it seemed that the Mark's Meadow course was the easiest one and our group was going to play that last. Plus I was interested to see where I was in the standings given that I did not have as good a round late as I did early. I talked to Karen and she was is a good spot for third place, and thought she might be able to get second.

Finally at around 8:20 am, our cards were posted and I started on the 7th hole of the East Course. It took me a little bit to find out where that hole was, but I arrived in time to throw a few practice drives and putts. My group looked to be pretty fun, as we laughed about the other guys who were still looking for their holes after the horn sounded to begin play.

I started out pretty well, with a few pars, and I tried to play each shot the best I could and look for my opportunities to get a birdie when I could. The starting holes were all fairly similar and not too long, which was a good warm up for the rest of the day. I felt like I was one of the better guys in my group and just as I did, I found myself taking a few bogies. I didn't let it phase me really as I knew that it was bound to happen and the key was to not try stupid shots to try and get it close, but take my medicine and just lose one shot (if any).


This course had a couple of really easy holes and I was just not able to capitalize on them and had to settle for pars. I tried to not let it get to me and tell myself that par was a good score for me and move on. There was two water shots on this course, back to back holes where you threw over the same lake. Luckily I had practiced the first shot with Brian the day before and I knew it was easy to get across the lake. My throw was actually a bit long, but it was the best of our group (as a few guys found the water) and while I was too far to expect birdie, I did manage an easy par. The next hole the drive was a little farther and the basket right on the edge of the lake. I went second on this hole and stopped to take a picture.


My drive was well over the water, and really a little too far and left. I ended up having to crawl under a tree and had to come up with a pretty difficult upshot to save my par. Another guy in our group was not as fortunate as he tried to throw a "thumber" over the lake and from the tee it looked like he made it - but once on the other side and after a considerable amount of searching we realized he didn't and he had to throw from the drop area. In the end I was glad to make my par and avoid any big numbers on the water holes.

The rest of my round was pretty steady, as I avoided any big numbers, but was unable to get much going or take advantage of the shorter holes. I ended up with no birdies and only a few bogies and one double for a round of 61. It was a long walk back to the tournament central and by the time I got there I was starting to feel pretty tired. It had been a long couple of days and so I just hung out and chatted with the local guys I knew,. I was not really sure how I was doing in the tournament overall, but figured I was in the middle somewhere as I had not been the best of worst in my group. I caught up with the Santa Cruz gang, and we hung out and talked about how they were doing and what was happening there. I chatted with Rob about how he was doing, since he was playing in my division and had in fact been in the group right behind me.

Finally about 2:00 the cards were posted and Karen and I drove back over the Mark's Meadow course. She was still in good shape in her division, and the girl who had been such as distraction the day before was not playing today, which made her very happy. As we got to the course, we were one of the first people there and took advantage of it by throwing drives down the length of the park. The course appeared to be set up the same way as it had been the day before, with the pins in the same place, so I was looking forward to shooting a pretty good score.

When I got to the tee I realized I was playing with Rob Harpner, Marty's brother, which I was excited about. We had never played together and I was anxious to see how he played. The other two guys I did not know, but before I knew it we were getting ready to start. This time I started on the 7th hole, rather than the 8th as I had the day before, and I ended up parring the first three holes. As we made the turn onto the back nine, I kind of fell apart, as I had a few bogeys before turning it around with a nice birdie on hole #14. Unfortunately on my very next hole I took a unfortunate 5, as my drive was not bad and by the next tee. I was only about 60 ft away and so thought I could easily save par. Well my upshot hit and bounced away from the hole instead of towards it and so I was left with about a 25 footer. Well this hole had a bad basket, it was put together upside down, and so had a smaller than regulation opening. I still made a good putt, but as I hit the basket in the front the disc hit and rolled away to about the same distance. Unfortunately I missed the come back putt for a five, when by all accounts I should have gotten a par.

Never-the-less I managed to shake it off and get back on a nice par run. Rob was playing about as well as I was, except that he throws everything sidearm (or forehand) which I thought was kind of interesting. He is just as nice as Marty and it was a pleasure to play with him. As we headed down the home stretch, I began to get really tired. It had been a long, long couple of days and my conditioning was starting to show (as I am SO out of shape). I tried to stay focused, but I was more interested in getting the whole thing over with rather than continuing to worry about my score. As a result I finished rather poorly with a number of bogeys and one double, before getting one last birdie. Unfortunately I followed that up with two more 5's, as I really was having trouble keeping my focus and so ended up shooting a 62... much worse than my 57 of the day before. But heck I was pleased to be in the middle of pack, given that this was like my 4th tournament and I have still been playing less than a year. Most of the people I had been playing with all week-end had been playing for years and I still managed to beat quite a few. I got back to the tournament central in time to say goodbye to a few of the guys from Santa Cruz and see how Geo, Mack and the local Berkeley boys had done. Everyone seemed to be pretty happy with their results overall, and no one seemed too excited... Everyone I spoke with had a great time and that is the most important thing!!

I can't wait to play again next year. The courses they set up were for sure challenging, but at the same time there were some easy ones too. It reminds me of how easy Moraga is and that I should be able to play better there. But it gets hard to really worry about your lines out there when everything is for the most part wide open. I think this is the secret to shooting low, and hopefully I can do it on a more regular basis. In the meantime, I will savor my good rounds and special shots, and forget about the ones I could have done better on. I am proud of the way I played and my putting and up shots were really good all weekend. I am looking forward to seeing how good I can get in the months and years ahead.

San Francisco Safari

I played in the San Francisco Safari this weekend, a tournament held annually in Golden gate park. I had signed up months ago and was looking forward to playing in another tournament before the end of the summer. The lowest division that they had was AM2 and so that is what I chose, and figured Gregg or someone else from Moraga would be playing that as well.

I arrived early on Saturday (7:30 AM) as I was unsure how long it would take to get to the course. It was pretty cold when I got there, and I met up with Shawn (a local guy who I met at Moraga and whom I saw in Napa as well) and chatted with him. We then headed over and registered and got our very nice t-shirt (see below). After a but, I then hooked up with Brain H. and we went out and threw a few of the holes. The course seemed pretty tight and yet some of the holes were short so it all leveled out. We even practiced throwing over the water and I was happy to say that my disc stayed dry.


I had not been playing as much recently as I started a new job, so the practice shots seemed to be going all over the place. I was not really worried about it, as I figured I was there to have fun and whatever happened it would be nice to play in a tournament so close to home (and NOT a Berkeley). I saw a number of local guys, or players from the weeklies including Scott Riley, Mack, Geo, Chika, Karen as well as the guys from Santa Cruz (including Marty, Rob, Ed) and others I had met along the way (such as Chris A., George, and a host of others). It is always good to catch up with folks you have not seen in awhile.

I started the tourney on the 9th hole of the "Mark's Meadow" course and rode over with Karen as she was set to start there as well. When I arrived at my hole a few of the guys were already there and so we practice putting and even threw a few shots at the basket. This did not prove to helpful to me as I threw both of my practice shots into trees and almost lost one (more on that in a minute). My putting seemed to be on though and that was good, as that gave me confidence that I would score well even if I hit a few trees which was bound to happen.

As I mentioned above, I hit two different trees with my practice drives. I shot my "Eye Roc" first and it hit a tree relatively close to the basket area and so I knew I could get a mid-range or putter to the hole. On my next shot I threw my new Crystal Buzz (the one I got in Santa Cruz), and it hit a tree only a 100 ft away and bounced into some bushes. I waited for my playing partners to throw and went to look for my discs. I found my first throw relatively easily, but as I was looking for my second one (the Buzz) I heard the horn go off that signaled the start to the tournament. I now started to get worried as I looked around some more and did not see it anywhere. I gave up for the time being and headed back to the tee to start the tournament. My mind was still on my lost disc, as I have never failed to get a disc back (unless it went in the water) and I figured I would look again after my drive. I got my drive down the fairway in good shape and so went off to continue my search for the lost disc. A few of the guys from my party tried to find it as well, but with no luck. Finally I had to go on and was upset that I lost this new disc and would not have it for the rest of the round.

I cruised along for the first few holes, each one seemed both challenging and yet easy enough to par (if you had a decent drive). I found myself getting pars with ease and even had a chance at an Ace, but my Wraith veered off at the last minute and I had to settle for a par when I missed my short 15 ft. putt. I was ok with that, given I was making most of my putts and this was only the 4th hole of the day and I knew I would get more chances. Plus par is always a good score for me, so I continued on. I was really having a good time and saw each new shot as a challenge, looking for the best way for me to throw it close to the pin or into an open area for a short upshot. I wasn't really concerned with my score and just out to have fun. This I think lead to my shooting well and finishing the first nine holes at par.

As the round continued though, I found this harder to do and eventually had a bad stretch where I took a couple of 5's. First I ran into a hole (#4) that I simply could not see a fairway or hole to throw threw - I stood on the tee and felt like I was bound to hit one of the trees in front of me, and I did. This was a long hole and I seemed to keep hitting trees and finished with a 5. On the next hole, I was up relatively close on my drive, but had a 30 ft. tree in between me and the basket. I figured I would throw a spike hyzer and land next to the basket, take my par and move on. Instead I threw my upshot 50 ft. up a tree to the right of the tree I was trying to miss and so took another 5. I had not even considered the possibility of getting caught in that tree, and felt pretty stupid for doing so, but oh well. Luckily I finished strong with 2 straight birdies and so ended up with a 58. Four over is a great tournament round for me and I felt really good heading into the afternoon.

Oh, after the round I asked again if a few of my playing partners could help me look for my lost disc (since we were now back where we started on hole 9). I had asked many people during the round if they had found/seen my disc with no luck and so I felt like it must be in a bad spot if no one had found it yet. Within 2 minutes of getting there Zack, a player from Humbolt found it 7 ft. up a tree and I have to say I was more excited to see that disc than I was for shooting well. I said thank you like a million times, and as I looked at the disc I noticed I had not even stopped to put my name on it - had anyone else found it I am sure they would have just kept it since there was no way to tell who it belonged to and was brand new. I am so glad to have my streak intact that I have never lost a disc not in the water.

Given my experience of almost losing a disc - I bought a couple of discs (another Crystal Buzz (173 grams) & Champion SL (166 grams) both with the tournament logo).


The afternoon round was at a different course, the West Course, and was a decent distance from the Tournament central area. I started on the 7th hole, which I did not realize at the time, meant that I was on the seventh card in the standings as well. I hoped that my good play of the first round would carry over into the second and it did as I started. This course had some water on it and unfortunately I would have to wait until the very end to throw the toughest water shot of the tournament, as we started on the hole directly after it - so I had all round to worry about what would happen when I got there.

As my second round got started, I did not find the course to be too difficult. I was able to make a few pars early on and the players I was playing with seemed a little better than the group I played with in the morning. Through the first 6-7 holes I was even par and it was not until I started on the back that I ran into trouble. I could feel myself getting tired from all the walking and throwing, much more than I usually do on my best day, and so I really had to focus on just having fun and doing the best I could. I got into a rut as we started the front nine (my back nine in terms of our round) and bogeyed 5 holes in a row. I just seemed to hit a tree here or there on the hole and just tried to minimize the damage. I didn't think it was the course so much as it was me being a little out of shape and getting mentally and physically tired.

Once we got to the last hole, I saw why people were complaining about how hard it was. The throw was a relatively long one and the landing area was obscured by large bushes and branches from a huge tree. We arrived and the group in front of us was also waiting while the group in front of them looked for their discs and played out the hole. I felt pretty beat and did not want to think about what kind of score I might end up with... When the group in front of us threw, 2 guys made it and one threw it over the water but to where no one could tell. Not a very good way to show us the way to play the hole. When they finally finished, it was our turn. I was last having been on the bogey train, so I watched as the three other players before me throw it into the water. I stepped up and tried to imagine my throw going straight to the opposite side of the lake, took a practice swing and threw it just as I planned and made it to within 30 ft. of the basket. I was so happy to have completed that throw and to have this afternoon round over with. The best player in our group threw 2 discs into the water before he finally made it to the shore for an 9 PP - yikes. He had been level par before that and I felt sorry for him as he had played really well and just messed up that one last throw.

With my round done I was anxious to get back to tournament central and see how others had finished. I met up with a few folks, Chika, Shawn, Brian, and Mack. I felt pretty happy with how my first day had gone and was looking forward to getting home and going to sleep. Although it had been a great day, I was very tired and needed to take my shoes off and relax - I knew tomorrow was another day and I was looking forward to seeing how well I could play tomorrow.

Dela Round

I took advantage of one of my last free days to head down to Santa Cruz and play Dela - and as you can see it was a glorious day to do it! I played with a local named Brian, whom I had played with before and does not use any run-up on his shots. He is a super nice guy and was giving me pointers on hole routes and we shared stories about the Master's Cup and other rounds.

I started off strong and almost had an ACE on hole #3 (see picture below) - my high turn-over shot flew well into the trees and fell and just missed falling into the basket. As it was it ended up 4 ft. past the basket.

Unfortunately I kind of lost my rhythm mid-way through the round and so ended up shooting a 16 over. The good news was that ALL the holes are back open and so I got another chance to play I-5 and holes 13-16, which have been closed for longer than I have been playing. They added quite a few shots to my score as a result - but I also tried some different shots than I normally would have if I was concerned about my score. Brian ended up shooting a 2 over round, which was pretty good given most of the pins were in the long positions.

I also picked up a disc for Dustin (and 150 gram Star Valk) as it was his birthday last week. I look forward to seeing how he throws it in the weeks ahead.

Bag Tag #4

I played Chika this afternoon and was fortunate enough to come away with bag tag #4. Neither of us played our best rounds, and we tied with +3 after 18 holes, so we went to extra holes and I took it with a par on #2, as Chika missed a 20 ft. putt for par. Early on I had the lead and was 1 under before taking a 5P on hole #6, as I got my tee shot stuck in the "pac-man" tree. After that Chika had the lead and took a bogey on the 18th hole to fall back into a tie, and thus force extra holes.

Overall I really enjoy playing with Chika and we seem relatively evenly matched, as either of us could shoot a few down or a few over at any time. I am looking forward to defending my tag in the weeks to come.

Won the weekly

I managed to win this week's tournament at Moraga with a nice 2 down round (net of 47)!! The secret was that I had no bogey's on my card. I played with Brant who shot 4 down, and Scott H. who was going along really well but had a few penalty shots and/or tough lies that caused him to shoot a one over. The final member of our group was Dustin who had been practicing with me for most the afternoon at the St. Mary's field, but that practice didn't seem to pay off as he shot a 62 (Yikes!). It doesn't really matter as it was good to see him out there and that is what is important.

The practice out on the field was a lot of fun. We threw upshots and also played a game of PIG, but instead of just putting we also allowed for longer shots and we even played across the entire field as a par 5. It was much more enjoyable to practice with someone else... it made the time go by quicker as well as gave me someone to compete against. I hope to do it more in the future.